Dungeons & Dragons Revises Archivist Subclass and More for Playtesting

Dungeons & Dragons has revamped the Archivist subclass in a new Unearthed Arcana. Earlier today, Dungeons & Dragons released a new Unearthed Arcana playtest with three subclasses, all of which had been previously looked at by fans in some form. Notably, the new Unearthed Arcana brings back the Archivist subclass for Artificers as the Order of Scribes for Wizards. In the playtest document, the Dungeons & Dragons team noted that, while players seemed to like the Archivist's abilities, many commented that it seemed to work better as a Wizard subclass than as an Artificer subclass. The Revived Rogue subclass and the Noble Genie patron were also updated in this playtest.

Players familiar with the Archivist playtest will see some of its core features translated into various Wizard abilities in the Order of Scribes. The Artificial Mind is now an Awakened Spellbook, although it comes with a set of different abilities. Additionally, the Order of Scribe wizards can halve the time and resources needed to transcribe spells into their spellbook using a special Wizardly Quill. At higher levels, the Order of Scribe wizards can create scrolls that can upcast 1st or 2nd level spells, and they can also manifest their Awakened Spellbook's mind as a construct that the Wizard can swap places with or even cast spells through. The Order of Scribes' capstone ability gives the wizard the ability to resurrect themselves as long as their spellbook is intact, but at the cost of permanently losing the ability to cast certain spells found in their spellbook.

The Genie Warlock patron also got a decent overhaul, including the ability for the Warlock to cast wish and the option to choose a genie with certain elemental abilities. At higher levels, the Warlock gains resistance to a certain type of elemental damage, can temporarily fly, and can protect themselves and their allies by drawing them into a lamp-like vessel. If the player (and allies) stays inside the vessel for at least ten minutes, they gain the benefit of a short rest. This is a great feature that provides the warlock with a way to quickly refresh his party and get them ready for battle in just a fraction of the time.

The Phantom Rogue has also been updated from a rogue who has come back to life to a rogue that has made a connection to death. The Phantom's abilities have also gotten some mechanical changes, with a new Wails from the Dead feature that targets a second enemy whenever the Phantom deals sneak attack damage and a modified Tokens of the Departed ability that allows a Phantom to capture the souls of the dead to gain advantage on death saving throws and the ability to ask the dead a question. The Phantom can eventually assume a spectral form with a flying speed that opponents have to attack with disadvantage.

The revised subclasses present some very intriguing and powerful mechanical options for players. You can check out all three subclasses at D&D's website.